Week 3 at OU!

Currently I am working with Fran, the Registered Dietitian here. She still has use working projects for her! We are working alongside her with the Fitter Foods program. What this program entails is that products offered by the University of Oklahoma have choices that are 500 calories or less, 15g or less of fat, and low sodium. What Fran is trying to do since the new dietary guidelines came out is focus more on saturated fat instead of total fat. Also she is thinking of bumping of the calorie spectrum. It’s still in the works, but it’s awesome to see the planning behind it!

                Fran has Erin and me working with policies for allergies for OU since they don’t have one set in place yet. So we have been looking at the breakdown of each section on the policy while viewing other University policies (to get an example to go by) then try to piece it all together. It’s really interesting to see the formation of a policy and it’s even more amazing that I am able to help!

                During this week we were guided over to the Central Kitchen where majority of the production for new products occur! This is where we met Jennifer Bigley who creates new recipes for all the owned OU restaurants. While we were visiting her, she was already in the process of producing a new smoothie which we had the opportunity to do a taste evaluation! I would love to have her job! She has the option to taste test all of her creations!

                On Wednesday we went to lunch at the Weather Center which had the Flying Cow Café which is owned by University of Oklahoma. We enjoyed some Indian tacos! So delicious! It’s basically fried bread with anything and everything on top! It’s only served on Wednesdays so we had to go early before the rush. After we ate, we got to see the balcony view where some individuals have the option to enjoy a beautiful view with their meal. The manager at the Flying Cow Café showed us the different equipment that the researchers at the Weather Center take out to the field! We saw some of the vans they take out to chase a tornado! The manager highly recommended to take a tour they offer there, so we hope to get one since they fill up fast!

These are the vehicles they use to take out to the research video

You might not be able to see it, but there are black old minivans that are used to chase storms! They don't take out the nicer ones because they're too expensive!

This is the inside of the Weather center! It's pretty tall!

They use these satellites to conduct research as well. They station them all over the world! 

This is the view from the top balcony! So pretty! A lot of times they come up and watch the storms through this room!

It was super busy on Indian taco day!

Another beautiful view!

On Thursday OU had scheduled Crimson Camps coming in which gave me the opportunity to taste the variety of options they offer during the school year at Couch(dining hall). The Crimson Camps are incoming freshman who come early to get a “feel” for the campus more before school starts. Erin and I are super excited about this because we know the variety of options of OU offers is tremendous during the school year! We went during dinner!

These are the deserts that they have throughout the school year! Talk about a paradise!

Also the chefs here really like to display beautiful food art. I need to learn those skills!

These pictures are inside Couch!

Erin and I went to an Ethiopian restaurant in Oklahoma City called Queen of Sheba! It was to die for! The thing is that you had to eat everything with your hands though. They gave you this bread called injera bread which is really thin and light. You break off a piece and you grab the food with it then pop it in your mouth! So good!

This was the Vegetarian sampler dish! Had green beans, potatoes, lentils, chickpeas, and collard greens!